A Vote for Holiness

With the election almost upon us, we are being inundated with commercials on television and radio. Even the phone is ringing with recorded statements from this or that candidate telling me how much they need my vote. But does my vote really count - does it really change anything?

I went into a barber shop the other day. While I was sitting in one chair getting a haircut, a man entered and sat in the chair beside me and began to get his hair cut by another barber. They began to make conversation and with nothing else to do, I listened in:

Barber: Are you going to the game this weekend?

Client: No, my daughter is getting married at our house and I've got to get the yard cleaned.

Barber: Is this her first marriage?

Client: Yes, this is her first.

Barber: Does she have any kids?

Client: Yes, she has two boys.

Barber: Is she marrying their daddy?

Client: No, he's not the daddy, but he's been living with her for a couple of years.

Needless to say, that conversation would not have taken place 25 years ago. First of all, once you found out it was going to be someone's first marriage, the assumption would have been that there were no kids to be found. And to ask a father after that if there were kids would probably have gotten your teeth knocked out. But these two men had this conversation as though it was the most normal thing in the world. As I sat there and listened, I just felt really sad - sad that my children and grandchildren will have to grow up in this kind of society - sad that my country has fallen so far from the biblical principles that it was founded on.

It seems to me that most of us want to take the easy way out, to vote for a man and then hope that man will change the direction of our country. I will vote in this election and I encourage you to do the same. But let's never think that a vote will change what is wrong in this land. Some believe that they can change this country one vote at a time, but America can only be changed one heart at a time.

What I'm talking about is holiness. It's not something we talk a lot about, but it's something that is desperately needed in our homes and in our society if we really want to see a change. If I can live a holy life I can affect others - in turn they can affect others andit goes on and on. There were only 120 people in the upper room, but they turned the world upside down.

It starts with you and I.

2Corinthians 7:1 Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.